Vegan "Homemade" vs. Weekday Dining

I am a busy gal. Make that a really, really BUSY gal. I work, what most weeks feels like, full-and- a-half-time. I seem to have a never-ending list of job training tasks to accomplish. I try to fit in as much running and yoga as I can handle. I just began a long-distance relationship. And I'll soon add online student and part-time farming apprentice to my weekly titles. Busy is often an understatement.

So while the foodie in me would love to spend whole afternoons mak

ing every (and many) entree, side dish, baked good, sauce, juice, and cappuccino myself, I more often than not have to surrender to my overly packed schedule and whip up

something quick and simple and hopefully, and most i

mportantly, healthy. The solution? My common choices are fresh fruit for breakfast, a lot of lunch salads, and quickly steamed veggies/beans for

dinner. Honestly and thankfully, those choices rarely get

old. They're easy to switch up. And the easy prep time keeps my sanity inline so I can make it through another jam-packed day.

Here's a couple of this past week's specific variations:

Romaine-Spinach Salad w/ red onion, pecans, diced seckel pear, and fresh pomegranate.

Steamed green pepper, sliced portabella, and carrots w/ a soy-dijon mustard sauce.

Simmer black beans, brown rice and sliced tomato.

New Leaf(s) and Neglect

Oh blog! How I've neglected you! And how I love you so. So this is my official apology for leaving you here on your lonesome for so long. I've been going through a lot of changes. And not the awkward adolescent kind, but more the liberating adult kind! Wait... that description sounds weird too. Let me clarify. Since we last spoke, I've returned to my normal job, gotten promoted, moved into my very first all-mine apartment in St. Louis (yippee!), cleared away some much unneeded inconveniences in my life and returned to the arms of someone I missed quite a bit. But enough of that boring gab! Let's get to food!

I've definitely had some slumps in the kitchen arena. It's odd, but since I began cooking (legitimately) I had never really struggled too much. Most things I baked (because I'm a sweets junkie) turned out fine- as intended. And perhaps I just got a bit too daring, but for a little bit there, most baked goods were ended up as flops. :( But! Things have taking a turn for the better and just in time for the season change. Which I am utterly stoked about. Yes, I know it's still a bit early, but I've seen leaves on the ground gosh darn it so in my mind Autumn is right around the corner. So back to what's new in food. Along with my new, quaint apartment came a kitchen! Did I mention I have it to myself. Well, I do. So far, I've filled it with one fancy schmancy chef's knife. I went with Global, as recommended by Giada. I spent $100 and let me tell you it was just like they say- worth every single penny! I got a chopping block and a grill pan- finally. And the most exciting purchase, was a 12-cup Kitchen Aid food processor which arrived just the other day and has yet to be used. But no worries I will be breaking in that bad boy tomorrow when I do the prep work for Tuesday night- aka Lasagna night! So now that I'm all settled in, here's my commitment to you, blog and/or readers. For every dish I photograph, I will write you a post. Promise. Until the next recipe please enjoy this "slideshow" of the past couple on months my stomach lived. : )

Rumnog Pecan Cookies via Veganomicon

My failed attempt to veganize Giada's PB Cookies w. Jam

Indian spiced baked tofu wrap on spicy flat bread

French Bread pizza with roasted red pepper, artichoke & sundried tomatoes

Quinoa & Zucchini Stuffed Peppers!

I've been doing my best to stuff my boyfriend with pasta- his favorite. Anticipate the blog leaning Italian. Until next time!

Pretzels

I find it quite peculiar the things that people leave behind in your life. There are suddenly objects and smells and ghosts of their essence. Anyone- from ex-friends to ex-lovers to ex-family members. They leave gifts and memories and foods and verbiage and habits and inside jokes and the list goes on. It’s astonishing to reflect on how much other people shape you and your life. It’s always something so simple and insignificant that leaves its mark. And in the present it means little to nothing, but in the past it’s so much more attention jerking. So defining. And there are times left for consideration of who and what would you be if not for these mere moments. Or at least there is for me. And I hope if I’m verbalizing my thoughts with any ounce of success, you can relate at least a tad. An ex-friend of mine once told me that for every failed relationship, she tries to evaluate what she gained that was positive from the “failure.” I’ve always loved that concept. It seemed wise and mature and healing. So if I feel like I’m becoming my mother, I focus on her admirable qualities. And from the ex-besties- what would I be without that one person to carry me through everything little and big event during the time span of us? But lately, it’s been about pretzels. Of which I am now, but was never prior, an advocate. Racheal Ray has said that food is the best way to take you back to a memory- even more so than a photo album. I absolutely could not agree more on how much food and love intertwine. In this instance, it’s not so much about the food, but rather the symbolism in it. Pretzels are a snack that I had given up on years ago and one that I never saw myself liking. That symbolism couldn’t be more fitting. And it couldn’t be less about the food and more about the new perspective and altered mindset. I took a chance and tried something “new” and in a teensy huge way, I’m a completely different person. And my reminder is a baked, knot-formed biscuit. Peculiar.

Creature of Habit

I would like to believe- no, actually I know that I've come a long way in my life. This past Thursday, I turned twenty-one. Finally an adult in our legal system's eyes. And for a twenty-one year old, I believe I'm ahead of the curb in maturity and responsibility and sensibility. I swear those are more than just my own thoughts- it's a fairly common review. I've made a lot of tough choices within my short time on this earth and I've dealt with the consequences of every one of those choices, for better or worse, all on my own. Growing up far too fast is a tragedy I am in many ways thankful for. It made me, me- the strong, extremely independent little lad I am today. Believe me, I'm as insecure as any young woman, but in most aspects I take a great deal of pride in all that I am. Still, with all the positive steps Ive taken toward the future I think I'll always want, I find myself getting in my own way in the same old ways I always have. And I'll repeat those slightly destructive behaviors. Like doing in excess and texting the Ex. Sometimes it feels that for the life of me I just can't respect the lines I draw for myself. And I compromise too much and I make excuses for people who hurt me. And maybe that's a self-esteem issue I need to address personally. Now, in yet another state of personal doubt in which I'm questioning how much progress I've actually made, I resolve to simply push forward. What else could asked of one little lad? Although I'm tempted to fly off the handle with brash behavior and give into my desire for an easier day to day by living as Sharon Stone would recommend, shamelessly, I'll stay the course. Because I'm no Sharon Stone and I wouldn't know who I am if I wasn't exactly how I am. As for those pesky vices, here's to endless attempts to permanent change. I'd like to think, no I know that that's a major part of what makes me me- I refuse to give up.

Knowing When to Fold 'em

When I was young (or younger) a family court judge told me, “…friends come and go.” Sad and true. When you’re little and nestled in your cozy family home, life seems safe and perpetual. Then along comes adolescence and you’re introduced to heartbreak. Your world ends and then continues and ends again and then somehow continues once more. Eventually, you learn that change is normal and unavoidable and you accept it…for the most part. Today I glance around my newly re-entered office to see quite the laundry list. My first week back awoke quite a variety of emotions in me. I see before me an uncomfortably lengthy series of burned bridges and estranged persons. And though I also see many familiar friendly faces, I can’t help but step back to scrutinize the choices I’ve made and responses I’ve chosen in the past year and some change. I cannot deny that I’ve misjudged and cut ties prematurely. Luckily, many have been amended. And I try to believe that those not amended are relationships I'm better off without. It's funny how fragile friendship is. Relationships begin and end so abruptly. And of course, they always start out great. I'd say that's the danger. If everything starts perfectly, it's easy to be in denial of the end. Thus, my eternal struggle: knowing when to let go. Knowing what, or rather, who is best for yourself seems almost as hard as choosing who/what is best for yourself. It's probably an American characteristic, but I'm passionate and compulsive and I want what I want. And so I often struggle to walk away. I imagine Ol' Blue Eyes would concur, once you've got them under your skin- they're under your skin. So here I sit- one week down and clinging to the belief that everything happens for a reason and all is exactly how it should be. And hoping that this cosmic order makes the right choices for me because, presently, I don't quite trust myself with that responsibility. And perhaps, I'll take up playing cards and practice cutting my losses.